Gartner's numbers show low-priced gadgets now drive growth

Worldwide combined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets and mobile phones) will reach around 2.32 billion units in 2013, up 4.5 per cent from 2012, but the market is being driven by a shift to lower-priced devices in nearly all device categories.

Worldwide shipments of traditional PCs are forecast at 303 million units in 2013, an 11.2 per cent decline from 2012, and the PC market, including ultramobiles, is forecast to decline 8.4 per cent in 2013.

Table 1

Worldwide Device Shipments by Segment (Thousands of Units)

Device Type

2012

2013

2014

PC (Desk-Based and Notebook)

341,273

303,100

281,568

Ultramobile

9,787

18,598

39,896

Tablet

120,203

184,431

263,229

Mobile Phone

1,746,177

1,810,304

1,905,030

Total

2,217,440

2,316,433

2,489,723

Source: Gartner (October 2013)

Mobile phone shipments, meanwhile are projected to grow, but only at 3.7 per cent, with volume of more than 1.8 billion units.

The global market keeps on taking the tablets. Shipments are expected to grow 53.4 per cent this year reaching 184 million units. Premium tablets are faced with continued price decline in the 7-inch form factor as a larger number of consumers prefer smaller form factors (the phablets) when it comes to content consumption.

Gartner says that a recent consumer study it conducted in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the US and Japan showed that smaller is better when it comes to consumer tablets with the average screen sizes of the tablets in use across the countries ranging from 8.3 inches to 9.5 inches.

Table 2

Worldwide Device Shipments by Operating System (Thousands of Units)

Operating System

2012

2013

2014

Android

505,509

879,910

1,115,289

Windows

346,468

331,559

363,803

iOS/MacOS

212,875

271,949

338,106

RIM

34,584

23,103

19,297

Others

1,118,004

809,912

653,228

Total

2,217,440

2,316,433

2,489,723

Source: Gartner (October 2013)

Email Newsletters

Sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos, plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox.